Construction Accident Compensation in Houston, Texas: What You Need to Know
If you’ve been hurt in a construction accident in Houston, you may have the right to recover compensation for your injuries and related losses. Understanding your rights and options can help you maximize your financial recovery in your construction accident case.
How Do You Qualify for Construction Accident Compensation?
Construction workers hurt in on-the-job accidents may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits from their employer if the employer participates in the system. Workers’ comp benefits pay for medical treatment, partially reimburse lost wages, and provide limited permanent disability payments.
Injured workers whose employers do not carry workers’ compensation insurance might be entitled to bring a personal injury claim against negligent employers. You may also have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit if you got hurt as a bystander in a construction accident or as a construction worker whose injury was caused by a third party’s negligence.
Seeking Compensation for Serious Construction Accident Injuries
Construction workers risk sustaining serious injuries if their employers fail to provide a safe workspace. These accidents can result in permanent injuries that could be disabling or fatal. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), there are four types of accidents known as the Fatal Four that are the leading cause of serious and fatal construction accidents. They are:
Some of the most serious types of construction accidents include:
- Falls from heights, often involving ladders or scaffolding. These are the most common causes of construction accident deaths
- Struck-by accidents, such as being hit by objects that are swinging or falling
- Electrocutions, which can be caused by exposed wiring, poorly maintained power tools, and wet conditions near power outlets
- Caught-in or caught-between, such as a hand being caught inside a machine or a worker being caught between two pieces of equipment. This also includes being trapped under collapsing materials.
Serious injuries demand compensation. The way an injured worker goes about seeking this compensation depends on how the injury occurred, whether or not their employer has workers’ compensation, and which party is ultimately responsible for the injury.
Types of Construction Accident Compensation in Houston
You may have the right to recover benefits through workers’ compensation (if injured as a construction worker whose employer carries workers’ comp insurance) or in a personal injury claim (if injured as a worker due to the fault of an uninsured employer, or by a third party other than your employer or co-workers, or as a bystander at a construction site).
The workers’ compensation system in Texas provides various financial benefits to construction workers hurt in construction site accidents, including:
- Medical benefits – Cover the cost of all reasonable and necessary medical treatment and rehabilitation for a work-related injury or illness
- Temporary income benefits – Provide partial reimbursement of lost wages from missed time at work due to a work injury
- Impairment income benefits – Provide financial compensation to workers whose work-related injury results in a permanent impairment that affects the whole body
- Supplemental income benefits – Provide compensation to workers who suffer a whole-body impairment of 15 percent or more and have not returned to work earning at least 80 percent of their pre-injury average weekly wage when those workers continue to look for higher-paying work and have not already accepted a lump-sum settlement
- Lifetime income benefits – Provide lifetime financial payments to workers who suffer an amputation of an extremity, total and permanent loss of vision, a severe traumatic brain injury, a spinal cord injury that causes paralysis, or extensive third-degree burns
If you have grounds for a personal injury claim or third-party lawsuit, you may have the right to recover compensation for various financial and personal losses you sustain due to a serious construction accident injury, including:
- Medical expenses for treatment and rehabilitation
- Costs of long-term disability care
- Total lost income from missed work
- Diminished future earning potential
- Pain and suffering
- Reduced quality of life caused by severe disabilities, disfigurement, and scarring
Why You Need a Lawyer for Construction Accident Compensation in Houston
Don’t make the mistake of pursuing a complicated construction accident claim on your own. Our construction accident attorneys can help you by investigating the accident to determine your legal options for seeking financial recovery, which may include a workers’ compensation claim, a third-party claim, a personal injury lawsuit, or a combination of these.
We can also deal with insurers, construction companies, and at-fault parties for you so you can focus on your treatment and rehabilitation. Perhaps most crucially, our lawyers stand ready to vigorously advocate for your rights and interests at the negotiation table, at workers’ compensation hearings, and in court.
Contact Our Houston Construction Accident Lawyers Today for a Free Consultation
If you’ve been hurt in a construction accident in Houston, you need to seek maximum compensation for your injuries and related losses. Contact Fibich, Leebron, Copeland & Briggs today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a Houston construction accident lawyer to find out how we can help.